To Each Their Own (or something like that, he said)
by AUselessMicroFluff Miccahlee
Summary: Having been sheltered for almost 12 years of his life, all Naruto Namikaze wants is to become a Konoha Shinobi like his father and rightfully claim the Hokage name he holds. So when he's finally given the opportunity to go to the Academy, he eagerly dives right in for the adventure -little does he know that there was a reason why he was kept away from it all... Slight AU, OOC
1. Prologue: Let's keep this simple

A/N: Adventure/Family/Humor slash many other genres, who knows. Hi there, AUselessMicroFluff here, starting out on a new story for this great Anime...I hope I can be a good storyteller...been watching Naruto since who knows when, just got into writing for it now while working on my RealitySHIFT story. Favorite, follow and review if you liked. This will be the last long A/N ever.

Disclaimer shit: Naruto is not mine or I wouldn't be here. Got it? Yea.. of course you do.

Full summary: Having been sheltered for almost 12 years of his life, all Naruto Namikaze wants is to become a Konoha Shinobi like his father and rightfully claim the Hokage name he holds. So when he's finally given the opportunity to go to the Academy, he eagerly dives right in for the adventure -little does he know that there was a reason why he was kept away from it all...

Eh, Well whatever happens, one thing is certain: come hell or high water, Naruto is going to be taking the Shinobi world by storm -and hopefully everyone would be alive by then. (Slight AU, retelling of the anime series to a point) OOC possible, with random moments.

* * *

 **[~]**

There were always the stories, you know?

It was obvious

While most were verbally visable, there were others...

...Unspoken...

Ones kept away, hidden behind mountains of lies, deceit, manipulations...

...just whispers in the wind...

But of course, there was one that threatened the balance of peace

And it started with one...

...small...

...spark...

That day...

The truth wouldn't be known for quite a while. They had made sure of that. And it was better for the sake of all that it remained that way

It had to be

They made sure that everything remained the same. They said everything needed to be kept under wraps, the people oblivious to what is in front of them...

...even if their appearances betrayed their knowledge

They all had to move on, forcefully

All in all, a state of normalcy

There wouldn't be another slip up anytime soon. Everyone made sure of that

Lies were the way to go

Besides...

...that was the way the world worked, right?

 **[~]**

 _"...the morning of October 10 was just like a day none other. People were going about their daily routines, ninja were off about in missions. Konoha was in a state of peace, and many believed it to be this way forever._

 _But they were wrong._

 _Somewhere along the hours of 8-10 pm, Konohagakure fell into a state of emergency: the attack of the nine tailed fox demon, having been released from its jinchuuriki. It lashed its great big tails around, sending trees and nearby areas into oblivion, the ground began to shake and tremble, and seas of water began to quake and rage across the land._

 _The village was no longer safe._

 _The best of the best ninja came and held back the beast at bay, but many had lost their lives noneless. People were evacuated, many were gravely injured, but the Fox kept on going. As it began to seem like there was to be no hope left, the Yondaime Hokage, recently elected, formulated a plan to put an end to the chaos and was prepared to risk his life to kill the demon..._

 _...But at the last second, our previous hokage, Sandaime Hiruzen Sarutobi, took the winning shot -at the cost of his life, showing without a doubt his title as the God of the Shinobi. In his last dying breath, he proclaimed the threat to the village to be no more, and wished for the Yondaime to continue his legacy of peace and prosperity..."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

"...Hm."

Silence.

"Well...to hell with this! I've made up my mind!"

* * *

 **To Each Their Own**

 _Prologue_

 **\- Let's keep this simple -**

 **[~]**

A hard back book was flung carelessly across a large room, its surfaces that were clearly shown to have taken a beating...taking another beating from its temporary owner. The book smacked itself onto the wall, which was decorated with little pieces of paper with kanji symbols and other squiggles -no doubt they were seals that kept anyone inside.

Like a prison. At least, that's how its prisoner established it.

Little blue cerulean eyes watched mischievously from afar as the book left a dent onto said wall. Watched as said book half slid-half hit the floor with a slam that echoed for a short moment before there was silence. Silence and some little huffs of breath before a loud, cute gasp was heard.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Those same little blue eyes widened with realization as the book's pages were flayed around, with some having separated from its bindings due to the force of the throw, _Oh crud..._ he thought in a panic, _dad's not gonna like the fact that I broke it already... and it's not even mine, dattebayo!_

Little footsteps made their way towards the wall and stopped; little hands began to grab the old pages and furiously cram them into the sections they belonged to. The child began to dart around that area quickly, all the while thinking, _I'm safe. No one saw me, so no one will place blame. Remember: if you don't get caught, then you won't get in trouble, especially with-_

There was a sudden feeling of cold behind..

 _Wait...! I think-_

"Oh? What happened here?"

The child, a young boy, shrieked as the book was dropped from his hands in shock. This resulted in another high scream as the book made hard contact with his toe. He began to jump around in pain before turning around to face the sneaky visitor.

"Inu chan...!," he growled as he began to quickly rub his toe, "not nice!"

'Inu chan', or basically, the grayish-white haired ANBU captain with the trademark mask, stood in front of him, marvelling at the dent in the wall before turning around to look at the book, which was once more in its spot on the floor with its pages displayed and some scattered around. He ended up looking back at the boy, chuckling at how he was fuming about the pain in a comical way before picking the book up and shaking his head.

"Maa, maa, Naruto. Don't need to be angry at me for ruining...your hasty attempt at a cover up."

Said blond stopped jumping around, snapping his gaze back to the person at hand. "You heard that? How?"

"You were speaking your thoughts aloud," the gray and black wearing teen said with light humor in his words as the blonde pouted, "What with your mother having been just like you...What was that about the whole _'If you don't get caught, you won't get in trouble'_ philosophy you were speaking so confidently?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He was hoping he'd gotten that aspect of himself broken out, but it couldn't be helped. Not like it would matter, anyway. Inu -this not being his actual name and attempts at obtaining it not fruitful- was his favorite ANBU, besides the ones that mostly came around to hand him food or check up on his health or his dad. It was only fortunate that it had been no one else, or he wouldn't have been able to explain himself so casually. He settled on giving him a thumbs up and a chuckle to lessen any punishment.

Just because Inu was his favorite didn't mean the guy was going to go easy on him.

"Yea, yea! That's right and true, dattebayo~!"

Okay. So that sounded bad.

"Well..I don't think I should be happy that I'm rubbing off on you," Inu nodded his head slowly before returning his gaze back to the book. "And do I _really_ need to know why this happened by any chance?"

Naruto tensed. "Um...No?"

They both looked at the book in his hand. Three more pages mysteriously fluttered off, and the small rope that held the binding together snaked its way out, therefore making the book itself even more unstable.

If Inu had his mask off, his eyebrow would be raised by now.

"Uh...well..You see..."

The boy began to balance on his feet back and forth, hands behind his back and playing with the fabric of his light orange shirt, face with his whiskered cheeks facing downward but eyes looking right at him through slightly long spiky, yellow bangs. _A picture of an angel to get out being in trouble that only I could pull off,_ Naruto thought slyly. _It always works..._

"Inu chan...if anyone asks, it was an accident, yea?," he said with innocence. "Please please _pleeaaaase, 'ttebayo_? I don't want to be banned from taking anything out..." Too bad his foxy grin ruined the show.

The ANBU tilted his head slightly. "Ok. I'll play your notion, Naru chan." Here was his favorite part. He bent down, lowering himself to the boy's level. "But how should I cover it up then?" He asked.

Naruto stopped rocking himself, noting no anger in his voice. _Here we go_. "I wanted to see how far it could fly?" He suggested.

"By throwing it?"

"Yup!" The boy grinned. "Or, if that doesn't work, then maybe it fell off my desk. That makes much more sense, right?"

"...um, ok..." the teen nodded. "But that doesn't explain why the pages came off like that. This book is old, Naruto. But not _that_ old."

Naruto held his mouth open before forming it into a slight pout as he racked his brain for more ideas.

"But...what if we said it was a really high desk?," he added with hyperactive hand motions. "Like, really, _REALLY_ high, ne? Will that work?"

"Yea... right. Your desk is short, unless it happened to be as high as the hokage monument, that will not convince anyone."

"Huh. Then how about we go about and blame Tora?" Blue eyes twinkled brightly. "You could say you were returning them and the cat happened to run into you and attacked you like crazy, dattebayo!"

"Could work...if the book happened to look like it were mauled," Inu quipped cheerfully as he brandished the piece of literature safely. "Really unbelievable, since I don't do D missions anymore, and I'm an ANBU captain. People won't take me seriously if I were ambushed by a cat. In fact, they'd laugh."

"Well, if you want, I could do the mauling part...whatever mauling is," Naruto offered happily. "Hey, Inu chan, what's mauling? Is it bad? How can I learn it? I bet if you taught me I can-"

"No, no. That's okay. But I give you props for trying to blame it on hell incarnate."

Naruto frowned. "Aww, and that demon animal was my best excuse...everyone uses it. Would have gotten away with it too if I knew what mauling was. Next in line... Maybe we can say it got run over?"

Inu flipped through a broken page from the book. "Run over by what, Naruto?"

"By...uh...um...," the blonde paced around, thinking of something. Inu found this cute, as the boy tended to remind him of his sensei. " ...lemme think..."

Silence.

"Anything?"

Naruto sighed. "No... so I didn't think that one through." He kicked the floor softly with his toe and focused back to ideas on the figurative drawing board. "Let's skip that: can we say someone stepped on it?," he suggested once again, snapping his fingers as it hit him. "Yea! Someone stepped on it, and made the pages come out and-"

"But there are no footprints." Inu pointed out.

Naruto smiled while rubbing his hands gleefully. "Oh hohoho~, don't worry about that, my ANBU friend, I can make some, dattebayo~! Just gimme here-"

"Oh no, no, no...!" The ANBU teen held the book above him as he held back the grabby arms of the bubbly boy, rubbing the blond's hair in fondness as he held him in place. "Lets...try not to go about thinking of ideas that would require abusing the book any more than it can handle, alright?"

"D'aww, you're no fun... it would have been believable, 'ttebayo." Naruto frowned slightly. "But you're not going to tell dad, are you?"

Inu looked at the book once more and sighed. It was adorable to see how the whiskered boy tried to come up with viable reasons explain the book's condition, though it wouldn't have done much anyways. Since he was the one that took it out, it was he who would be getting flack for returning it in its current state to the Konoha great library...but then again, he couldn't really blame the kid. It was easy to see that his sensei's son was bored and frustrated...

... _from the damage to the wall...and the choice of book..._

Anyone who happened to be Naruto would have been. _But still..._

"No, no. Don't worry. I won't say a word. He won't be mad."

As he began to shuffle the pages around before closing it back up again, he could see the little blonde running back towards a small bed, disheveled orange covers with little red uzumaki spirals decorating the fabric piled on one side, and darting towards his right side where he could see five more books, two piled and three scattered around, pages open. All having been read, seeing as how the boy ran back with them in his hands and placed them at his feet.

"All done with those?" Inu asked cheerfully before looking back at the book in his hands: The History of the great Hokage being its name, along with stories about Konoha's finest ninja. "And are not _destroyed_ in any way?"

He emphasized "destroyed" slightly, tone not escaping Naruto's sensitive ears.

"Aww, you're still not gonna let that go, are you, Inu chan, 'ttebayo?"

Sigh. "Well, I am the one whose taking these out for you, Naruto. And with one book down for the count..."

"Yea, yea, yea. They're fine," Naruto grinned, hands on his waist. "Don't worry about it. You can see for yourself, though if you could only teach me Henge, I could easily take the blame..."

He stopped mid way to embrace the ANBU captain in a sudden hug, nuzzling him. To say the gray haired teen was taken aback was an understatement. Naruto was more nervous than ever as well, and thus after a minute of friendly contact he let go and stepped back with a lop sided grin.

"Um..."

"Hehehe.. always like that. That was a thanks, Inu chan buddy! For the books? They were fun to read, especially the hokage one! You always know what kinds I like!"

Inu smiled. "Oh? And why is that?"

"Because one day, I'll be Hokage!" The blond exclaimed with slight boast. His cerulean orbs shone bright like diamonds as he nodded his head fiercely with determination the more he kept thinking about it. " Hokage, hokage, hokage..." the word rolled off his tongue in good spirits. "The Godaime Hokage Naruto Namikaze, dattebayo! That has a nice ring to it, don't you think, aniki?"

He could see Inu flinch slightly from the word "aniki" but didn't say anything. _Probably not used to being called that. Meh. Need that for part one of my plan even though I do think of him as a fun brother_ , Naruto reasoned. He continued on his barrage for pretend candidacy with gusto.

"I will be the next hokage of this village!" He proclaimed. "I'll be better than my dad or any of those other cheap knockoffs in that book ever were..."

"But the Konoha Kage weren't-"

"But to do that," Naruto rubbed his hands slyly, totally ignoring whatever the ANBU captain had to say, "I'll need to be a ninja of Konoha and rise up the ranks."

The boy looked at his friend/makeshift brother, the grin on his face growing wider with every passing second as target comically sweatdropped.

"Why are you looking at me- WHOA!"

Naruto pounced onto the teen, grabbing the gray vest and giving it a tug as he clung on. Inu struggled to keep still and remain standing, but the weight of a 7 year old wasn't fun to maintain, especially when he was moving around like a bundle of energy.

"I don't care what my dad says," he said firmly while keeping his eyes focused on the slits of the mask. "Inu chan, I know my dad won't let me walk off to the academy, and I can't go outside to train or hang out with people like me...," the blond slowly let go of the teen and stepped back, eyes now distant and hurting. "I'm stuck here, and even if I have _you_ , dad and the rest of the ANBU coming here to play with me, I'm still bored and lonely."

Naruto looked at the books on the floor and smiled weakly, holding one in his hands and clutching it tightly. "Reading those books are what makes me happy, and having you read me stories about ninjas and hokages make me want to be one so badly, 'ttebayo. But dad always says that he doesn't want me to be a ninja because Ill get hurt and I'm 'special'...Whatever that's supposed to mean."

Inu looked at the boy, his charge and surprisingly, someone he would call his little brother, with a lowered head as the blond began to speak once more with restraint.

"...so please...I know I'm small. I know I'm not that smart, but..."

Naruto gently lowered the book back with the rest and then suddenly pointed a finger at the teen, jabbing it into his vest with every once of strength that he could muster and successfully making Inu stumble back a bit. "... _you_ gotta help me become a ninja! I don't care what my Kage dad has to say about it! Just train me, train me, train me dattebayo~!"

"But Naruto..."

"Oi! Even if it has to be a secret...I'm not going to let my dream die!" He fought back forming tears. This was no time to cry. "...I'm going to be the best of the best -the next Hokage, stronger than dad ever was! I'm going to show him that I don't need to be kept away from the people because he's too nervous about my safety!"

With that, he clenched his fingers into a tight grip and stomped one foot onto the floor to seal the emotional deal (he hoped). "Train me so I can be the best, dattebayo~! Besides, most kids would be entering classes soon...!"

"...I just gotta be a ninja!" A clenched fist into the air with a dramatic pose finished off his speech.

None of them said anything after a while. The room they were in once again grew quiet, and the small echoes of distant footsteps were heard outside the halls as once or twice, a person would make their way inside the hokage's living quarters to fix a few things or bring in a few foods -ones that were given clearance, that is. Most of the current Hokage's -the Yondaime- personal and important items and treasures were kept in his smaller office/ temporary home -Naruto included. Inu and most of the carefully selected ANBU black ops were given access to the home, and ordered to protect the boy at all costs.

They were the only family, besides the Hokage, that Naruto knew.

So it didn't strike him as strange that Naruto would choose him, out of everyone he could get attached to, to help him in his merry way towards his dream. Inu had been around the boy so much that he made efforts -painstaking efforts- to arrange times to come into his room and play with him, teach him to read, write, and talk about things on his mind...

Naruto was, after all, lonely in his room...ever since that day...

Just looking at the blond's blue eyes digging themselves further into his soul made him want to look away. It hurt him whenever the boy looked sad or bored. Whenever he had pleaded to learn Henge so that he could go outside and talk to others...

... _to secretly enter the academy._

Oh, he knew the meaning underneath the meaning as to why Henge became such a frequent visitor in conversations. But with this...being asked to tutor the boy privately on being a ninja? If anyone found out about this, or even found out that the books he had been bringing to Naruto were henged...

He had to follow the rules. That was what he was trained to do.

He had to say no to the request, even if it would hurt the kid. Even if it hurt him. The boy regarded him as a friend and older brother that he never had. But just like denying the lesson on Henge-ing, Naruto was not to be taught anything about being a ninja. He was advised by the boy's father, his sensei (saddened as he spoke) and by the council themselves. (Though Danzo suspiciously agreed against the Yondaime, which remained a small little bug that pestered their minds.)

Naruto wasn't supposed to know anything about himself other than the fact that he was the son of the Konoha's Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Nothing else. If questions should arise, it would be answered simply "Its for your safety," and a pat on the back, maybe some toys or books and nothing else. Hell, even ninja books weren't to be shown in his presence.

 _But he had broken that rule._

So why couldn't he say no? It was an easy order to follow. Just say "No, Naruto. That path will only bring you pain and suffering. Your father will not want to cry if you leave him a lone man." He can patch up the blunder and push the boy's interest elsewhere. Perhaps he could be a good teacher.

But why?

Why did he instead choose to say yes and watch those blue eyes light up like fireflies at night? To see the little ball of sunshine smile wide and squeal like crazy, to see him happy? To feel him wrapping his small arms around his waist and hugging tightly?

Why...

The sight hit a nerve, and somehow, the rebellious nature of what he had done made him feel slightly warm all over.

Yea, maybe he needed a little brother. Sensei was practically his pseudo-father, and Naruto ironically fit the bill, plus more. He needed people, and having been around Naruto and Minato were positive turning points.

Yea, that had to be it.

 _Fuck the council,_ Inu spat the name out of the group of Elders that were bent on barring the boy from liberties mentally. Naruto leapt into his arms and laughed, oblivious to the mental decision going on in his head. _Naruto...Naruto is not a little kid to be kept in the dark. He is stable, energetic and eager to see his dream out no matter what. And even if Sensei has his hands tied at the moment, nothing...absolutely NOTHING should come between that..._

 _...Not even fear._

"But what should we tell dad?" Naruto questioned suddenly as he remained within the warm embraces of the captain. "I don't want to not follow his rule...But I wanna be a ninja so I can become hokage!"

"You do know he could just name you his successor and that's it, right? You don't even need to go through the long haul."

Naruto frowned. "Nah. The Hokage has to be someone strong and brave with precious people to defend. If I want to be a Hokage, I need to be a great ninja so I can gain all those and more,' ttebayo! No cheating, I want to be just like those Kage before! Yeah! I wanna be super cool and have flashy jutsu and be awesome!"

"...But I thought you said they were 'cheap knockoffs'?"

Pause. "They still are."

Sigh. "I won't ever understand your logic, Naruto."

"Hehe, That's what dad says!"

 **[~]**

Somewhere off in the main part of the Hokage building, one Minato Namikaze sneezed on his paperwork, dropping ink into some important document and knocking over his thirteenth cup of coffee. _Oh Damn, must be allergy season,_ he assumed.

 **[~]**

"...right."

"But no, really," the blond yawned out as he stretched his hands and scratched his head. "What do I say? I don't want him to get mad."

Inu picked up the books from the floor before leading Naruto back to his bed. "We'll think of something, ne?"

The seven year old rubbed his eyes and smiled. "Okay...we have a lot of time. We start tomorrow?"

"Maybe."

"Aww...you're not going to lie to me, right? That's what dad said...but he didn't really lie that time though..."

"I'll try to get things arranged then." Inu smiled as he ruffled the blonde's hair and left the room, throwing in a "goodnight" for added measure.

"Alright! Inu sensei, Inu sensei dattebayo~!" Naruto chanted with glee before throwing the covers over himself, but first taking a look outside of the small window a few inches above his bed on the wall. Normally, he would have been tempted to use the bed's wooden railing to peek a view at the village below, but this time he settled for the sky gaze, which did not disappoint. The sun looked as if were starting to set, with its mixtures of pink, red, blue and periwinkle decorating the clouds and giving depth to the heavens above, making it seem magical.

A magical view for a magical set of events that just happened.

 _I'm going to be a ninja! I'm going to be a ninja!_ Naruto repeated over and over in his head, the excitement stirring his tummy and making him want to jump around like crazy. That was if he could, of course. There was that fatigue that was starting to kick in, and his eyes slowly began to droop until they screamed for closure. _I'm going to be a ninja...my dream...and then I'm going to take the hat...and then I won't be so lonely anymore..._

 _Isn't that great..._

 _...Kurama chan?_

A small orange blob that Naruto could barely make out popped into his vision. The blonde forcefully opened his eyes wider to get a better look at his friend -imaginary to him, of course. A small fox, orange coloured with bits of red and yellow adorning the tips of its ears and push tail made its way to the right side of the bed and curled itself into a ball, peeking out to look at him with one eye glowing like fire as it spoke in mental link. _**Go to sleep, you runt. You're killing me with your excitement.**_

 _But I'm so happy datteba-_

 ** _Be happy another time! I don't want to hear you repeating yourself over and over or you'll drive me insane, kit._**

Sigh. _Alright, alright, no need to be mean.._. Naruto smiled before letting sleep reign over. _I just don't like not talking to you like a real person when people are 'round, 'ttebayo. They will think I'm still a baby for having an imaginary friend..._

 ** _...Yet when they are gone, you persist on using our mental link. I can never understand your logic sometimes_.**

 _Heeey, that's what Inu cha- sensei and daddy say to me!_

 _ **I wonder why...Sigh**._

 _Whatever. Goodnight 'rama chan..._

 ** _Hn._**

* * *

Well, that's it. This story will follow the series to a point. There will be changes, hopefully some humor, same old Naruto goofiness.

Next chapter: _Child no more! Naruto Namikaze here!_

See you when I get another chapter out.


	2. Child no more! Naruto Namikaze here!

A/N: Naruto is not mine. That's all, since this chapter is a little long but necessary. The rest of the chapters won't be this way. Read, comment favorite and follow!

* * *

 **_5 years later..._**

Konohagakure. The village hidden in the leaves. A village full of hustle and bustle, from the people who walked its streets in their daily routine, store workers opening up shops for the day and were advertising their wares, kids under the age of five running around and playing, and to the ninja moving about in their attempt to chase someone at the moment or busy in their missions. Everyone was lively, so it was a pretty good day. And to top it all off, it was all underneath a blue sky filled with white, puffy clouds-

Bam!

 _It's just one of those days..._

Bam!

 _its just one of those days..._

Bam!

 _Why aren't I falling unconscious?_

Bam!

"...ooooow...!"

Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage and Konoha's infamously famous Yellow Flash, headdesked onto his sturdy wooden oak desk several times over a two hour period like a woodpecker. And anyone who happened to walk in on this little scene would think he had finally gone crazy.

But why was the most handsome and smartest leader of the village doing that, you ask?

 _Paperwork_ , the blond-yellow haired man thought as he glared at the stacks of paper that took up free space on his desk and around his floor with uncaring, seething blue eyes, _the damned paperwork...the bane of every hokage's existence...!_

The paper seemed to laugh at him the longer he kept his eyes on it. He could almost see them looking at him between the cracks of the pile; hear them laughing with their thin paper-y mouths at his agony...

 _I really don't need that imagery in my mind...am I going insane...?_

And thus he proceeded to headdesk once more, each blow leaving a dent on the smooth surface in danger of growing and managing to somehow successfully spill over a small vial of ink along with his coffee cup. Minato watched as the light brown goodness began to spread itself throughout his desk and drip onto the floor, not bothering to make any moves to remove three contract licences out of the liquid's way.

.. _uuuugh. Why do I need to do this...?_

It's true: Minato completely hated paperwork. Hated it with a passion that burned so bright he wished it would manifest itself and burn those bloodsucking inanimate fuckers away like tiny marshmallows. _Or corpses,_ he smiled as he pictured the scene. Whichever one would give him the satisfaction of relieving the next Hokage's possible onslaught of stress early before it would put the man or woman into the hospital for heart failure.

Deductive reasoning behind illness: the paper was always _THERE_.

Every single time he thought he had finished the day's documents stamping or signing, there would be even more that one of his assistants -a random chuunin or worker that happened to be stuck with the job for the day- would have poured onto him like his increasing dependency drug: good old coffee. He had no idea where they even came from or who was manufacturing his downfall, but one thing was certain: Paperwork, unlike his coffee, was not sweet, and it never freaking _ended_! How that was possible remained to be a mystery.

 _I bet it was the work of a jutsu,_ muttered Minato to himself.

But, he was a Hokage. So he had to suck it up and read every piece he had thoroughly -last time he didn't, he nearly signed off on a document from the civilian council demanding changes to the Konoha academy's curriculum and that a signature was required from him to override the Shinobi council's rule in that case. But hell knew he thought the lessons taught were okay, and besides, civilians didn't have a say in something ninja related, so he scribbled all over the paper (after halfway signing it) and then happily burned the document.

Funny thing: no one in the civilian council ever asked for its presence back, so he was in the clear on that part.

 _Sigh...why can't I destroyed these as well?_ Minato cried internally in exasperation as he wiped off the coffee with paper towels before it began to ruin more than he could allow it to. He cried fake tears as he held the damp towels in the air and shook them. _Even after all this time, I'm still always behind the workload...There is almost no way to catch up even with the use of Kage Bunshins...! How did you pull it off, Sarutobi? How did you fucking-_

"Yondaime sama?"

Minato snapped out of his daze and looked up to face the visitor in his office. Standing in front of him was one of the academy's chuunin: a man with brown hair and a scar across his face, with the trademark vest and a welcoming aura. Someone he knew quite well.

He smiled.

Umino Iruka, the lone survivor of his family; parents that died in the line of duty during the rampage of the nine tailed fox. The teen whom he met during his time starting out as Hokage and comforted now stood before him with a semi placid expression on his face as the chuunin tried to understand what in the nine dimensions of hell was currently going on with the leader of his home.

"Uh..."

"Oh, Iruka. I've told you many times not to address me with such formality. We're friends..." Minato quickly tossed away a newly formed ball of sticky brown paper to the trash with a casual air. "It's nice to see you again. May I ask how things are going for you this Sunday?..."

It was surprising to the blond how sane and calm he could make himself be when in the presence of company.

Not like he wasn't when they were gone...But still.

Iruka laughed. "Ah, I know but I find it wrong if I do. And I'm fine, thank you for asking..." he replied with a weary smile. "...though I've been busy with the kids all week. Its hell during these final days of the academic year, so days off are a blessing, I suppose-"

"Why did you bring more of those _demons_ into my office?"

Insert comical sweatdrop. "...the demons?"

Clearly, Minato wasn't done talking yet, as his face blanched slightly. Iruka watched as Minato pointed at what the chuunin held in his two hands with a horrified expression, finger trembling ever so slightly.

"Those things...," the Yondaime hissed, "...those _evil_ things..."

Iruka looked down.

"Oh..." the Academy sensei tilted his head slowly, "... _these_ things you mean?"

"Yes."

"The _papers_ in these files?"

"Yes, Iruka. The papers that are in those files that you're about to add onto my never-ending pile of papers on my desk. _Why_?" The question added at the end was strained. Iruka couldn't help but to flinch slightly.

"...Well...um...y-you asked for progress reports on the upcoming students for graduation...?" The man nervously replied as the Yondaime continued to look at the papers with a look that could kill. He was seriously beginning to contemplate ever walking in on the leader, especially on what was now starting to look like a very bad day made officially worse by the arrival of more work.

He was starting to wonder whether this scene was an everyday occurrence with the workers here.

"I asked?" Minato questioned himself, frowning.

"Yes, Yondaime sama...yesterday in fact...," Iruka nodded sheepishly, "but I just happened to get to it today and so I brought them here, you know, because you wanted them..."

Silence.

 _Sigh_. "I see. I've forgotten about those. I guess I've just gone and dug myself an even bigger grave."

Iruka raised an eyebrow at the statement. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Minato replied before yawning and stretching a little. Iruka watched as the blond placed his hands on the back of his head and leaned into his seat, closing his eyes a little to enjoy gentle wind that happened to blow on his hair from an open window. "So I guess I have more work to do then, huh Iruka? I just pray, Kami sama, that nothing else happens that would potentially worsen my da-"

" _Yondaime sama_!"

"Aw, I just had to open my _mouth...!"_

The door slammed open as another man suddenly bursted into the room, startling both Iruka and Minato that the two jumped slightly off from their places and snapped their heads towards his direction. He had sandy brown hair tied into a bun, with brown eyes. _A Jounin by the looks of it,_ they both registered.

Poor door...

"Kaizama, the hell is wrong with you!?" Minato exclaimed as soon as he able to speak again. "Bursting into my office like that...if you're going to come barging in like a wild animal, then you better get adjusted to using the windo-"

"The Hokage monument's been painted!"

Minato frowned. _Huh._ "Well, now that certainly is a surprise..."

"The Hokage monument...?" Iruka (surprisingly shocked by the news more than the Hokage) dropped the papers onto the desk before making his way along with the curious blond towards one of the windows facing said mountain...to find the four faces of Konoha's Kages drawn over with coloured paint; definitely a child's way of imagination.

The Shodai had a curling yellow mustache drawn in, along with triangles and the lower bottom of his lips painted blue; the Nidaime had blue swirls around his cheeks, plus a drawn over red tongue and black stripes on his nose. The Sandaime had a star on one cheek with drawn in orange boogers coming out of his nose plus curvy blue eyebrows and what looked like an attempt at some sort of brown cigarette in his mouth. But somehow, to Minato's relief, the culprit hadn't managed to get far into his face carving. The Yondaime only had green eyelashes drawn into his eyes, with a small section of his upper lip having been just coated with red paint before the discovery.

Said culprit was now being chased by several jounin and chuunin from the scene, laughing all the way.

 _Shrugging that off_...

"Hmm... Well, at least I have nice sexy eyelashes," Minato quipped quietly with a small smile.

"Sexy?" Iruka stiffed a laugh. "Green ones?"

"Eh, what can I say? They look mighty fine so far...I wonder what the child was planning on drawing on me..."

They both giggled before reverting back to seriousness.

Kaizama stepped forward a little. His hands were clenched and he had one of his arms out in a firm grip as he spoke in a firm yet nervous tone. "I'm so sorry, Yondaime sama," he said. "We should have been more care with security up there-"

Minato turned around to hold up a finger, effectively silencing the man's apologetic speech along with a shrug. "It's just mere paint, Kaizama. Nothing to be worried about. As a matter of fact, I think it's kinda cute."

"But still, that's not-"

"Iruka, Kaizama, just bring him to me," he ordered the two ninja in front of him with a wave of his hand. "I'll have a word with this kid on why defacing monuments is a bad idea for a joke..."

With the title as Konoha's dangerously deadly Yellow Flash, a "flee on sight" order issued under his name in several bingo books, and a seasoned ninja veteran, they both had assumed he would shown some seriousness in the situation. At least a little. But much to their dismay (Kaizama's, Iruka was somewhat okay with it), they couldn't help but to shake their heads when their fearless leader begin to chuckle at the monument once more -more or less amused than what they thought he ought to be- while giving his opinion on the work.

"Artistically, I'd have to say it looks nice. I love the thought. Could have used some more red, though. Definitely Kushina's colour..."

Kaizama shook his head, Iruka shrugged before they shunshined away, leaving Minato to his thoughts.

* * *

 **To Each His Own (or something like that, he said)**

 _Chapter 1_

 **-Child No More! Naruto Namikaze here!-**

 **[~]**

"Hahaha, catch me if you can, slowpokes!"

"Come back here, you little runt! You'll pay for defacing our beloved monument...!"

"Pssssh, Yea right, dumbnuts! You're all just upset that I've managed to pull it off! You guys didn't even have the guts!"

"We're not as disrespectful like you, you little-"

Laughter (and the second quote, but rephrased in many ways) ended up being the unsuspecting vocal highlight of everyone's day, as what seemed to be a normal day in the village turned into a sudden wild goose chase: set up amongst the elite jounin and the few chuunin versus a blur/whirlwind of a twelve year old child -dressed in a dark blue shirt, standard orange capri and standard blue ninja shoes- who was happily laughing his head off and giving his lungs a class A workout all while manhandling the only can of orange paint he had in his hands poorly.

 _Too_ poorly.

Needless to say, most of the villagers were pissed when said paint fell on them and their produce and expressed their rage with screams and fists into the air, along with the occasional _"dang kids these days!"._

The ninjas chasing the boy were not pleased.

 _Yes, it was definitely an unsuspecting and annoying highlight_ , most of the people thought to themselves as they kept their eyes glued to the retreating figure of the black haired boy with an evil glare. Others felt bad for the parents of said child when they get flacked about the deed the boy had done and shook their heads in pity. Oh yes, it was certainly going to be hell and the center of tomorrow's village gossip...

Not like the child cared, anyways.

Above rooftops and old lampposts, across gaps between buildings of different sizes and running up alleyways with confusing twists and turns, the chase went on and on until the ninja themselves began to grow tired and restless. Within an hour, they were completely pissed. In each of their minds, they all thought the same thing: The kid had somehow disappeared, and almost when he was within their grasp! How where they going to explain to the Hokage that they had failed to bring in the no good prankster who showed no remorse for the deed? Where in kami's name did this kid go?

How the hell did no one even notice the paint for _three_ hours?

27 ninja happened to regroup in a small alleyway intersection. They each looked at each other and silently nodded before quickly breaking off the groups and went solo. While the rest took to the roofs and disappeared, three men remained in the alley and crowded around the one in the middle, Kaizama the Jounin, who cursed under his breath.

"Damn, that child is like a fox..cunning and quick to escape..." he commented rather annoyingly. "Where could he have gone?"

"Don't worry, Kai. We'll find him soon enough," a brown haired jounin assured him with a hand on his shoulder. "He's just a kid. He'll get tired eventually."

"Yea!" Another man with short red hair exclaimed. He was a chuunin. "He's no match for us elite ninja. Now let's go, last time I saw that brat, he ran off this way! Strength in numbers!"

A chorus of "yea's" rang out, laced with determination as the three ninja quickly dispersed from the area in search of their prey...

...

"Hehe, they really _are_ stupid, aren't they?"

Along one part of the wooden fence, a cloak that mimicked the wooden surface was pulled down, revealing the face and shoulders of a black haired boy, a grinning expression on his face as he looked at the jumping forms of Kaizama and his pals. It was really a shame, he told himself, that having been standing behind that wooden camouflage cloak right next to them had not even brought up any alarms. They just completely took off without noting bits of black hair sticking out and the small movements behind the bluff. It was really a shame!

"And they didn't even hear me laughing?" the boy shook his head sadly while laughing. "I swear _I_ could hear myself laughing and I was trying so hard not to make a noise, dattebayo!"

 _ **Such humans are so easily blinded by their duty...how sad, isn't it, Naruto?**_

A small animal: an orange-brown fox with fiery red eyes and red and yellow colouring adorning the tips of its plush tail and ears, made its way beside the boy's legs and climbed his body. It rested itself on top of his head, tail curling around his neck and paws clinging to the right side of his cheeks. Comfortable for it, uncomfortable for Naruto...

..if he could feel it completely. All he could felt was a slight pressure to his head.

 ** _They act just as you would have done, but even dumber. And these humans call themselves 'elite'. Kekeke...My ass, what a joke._**

"I was so sure they would've caught me, being so close that they were 'ttebayo," Henge-Naruto sighed, letting the low glowed comment to his antics side for now. Besides, it was a cross between a compliment and a diss, and he wasn't going to entertain his friend with a reaction today.

But he did scratch the back of his head and chuckle when he heard his name being used for once in the animal's vocabulary. A rare thing.

 _Huh...Say, that's a thing, Kurama chan...not calling me 'kit' anymore?_

Kurama tilted his small furry head slightly.

 _What's the occasion for-_

There was a sudden chill in the air, followed by a small ripple of energy that passed through his body. His eyes widened at the familiarity of the feeling. But before he could react to it a firm hand grabbed him on the shoulder from behind, and wrapped something thick, fibery, and long around his being with speed.

"A-ha! I've caught you now, you troublemaker-!"

"Son of a -!"

 _Kurama chan, why didn't you warn me, you traitooooooor~!_ Naruto yelled as he was slung on the ninja's back. _I thought you had my back, 'ttebayo?!_

 _ **Kekeke...I never said I was going to help you with anything, gaki. I only tagged along for the sights...**_

"Ahh daaa~"

 **[~]**

"...~mmmit! Not cool, not cool, _not cool,_ dattebayo~!"

"Hmp! Damn is correct, young man -though you need to mind some manners! Using that type of vocabulary at your age...!"

"Iruka, take it down a notch. He's just a kid."

"My apologies, Yondaime" -glare- "... _Minato sama_ , but this type of behavior is abnormal...what he did so sudden makes me so mad-"

Chuckle. "And you're the one to talk, Iruka. Last time I remember, it was _you_ back then who used to do things like this."

The latter man sighed, raking a hand into his hair in embarrassment. "Yes I know I had...but the difference between me and him is the fact of suddenly going so far as to pull a stunt like that -and with that height-"

"Bleh!" Naruto stuck his tongue out from his spot on the floor. "Like a little height can stop a ninja! You just didn't have the guts to try like me, you old pansy!"

"Old PANSY?"

The air became heavily charged.

" _Grrr_...At least I learned to be mature, unlike you!" The chuunin replied with a small smirk. He had some Intent leaking through that sentence that made the boy flinch slightly, but not the killing type. He really tried to avoid using that whole "big head" no jutsu he usually reserved for his students. "Just look where your guts landed you!"

Naruto growled; oh, he knew where he was alright: He was tied up with rope in Henge form inside his father's office.

Iruka sighed, letting the anger roll out into one of worry. "That stunt you pull was dangerous, young man. You know you could have gotten yourself hurt by the fall. I dont know what tempted you to deface a monument, but I think having you clean it up would be the appropriate punishment..."

As much as he could feel the man's genuine concern for him, Naruto couldn't help but to tick him off more. Such was his nature.

"Oh Joy, manual child labor! Gee, I can't _hardly_ wait to be forced to clean an entire mountain!"

"Why you...!"

Naruto laughed at the scene. Normally he would have been terrified, seeing as they both -his father mostly- were upset. But he was using henge: hiding behind a fake persona and having his father and this... _Iruka_...standing in front of him reprimanding him really didn't intimidate his psyche much -though it did raise questions about why the sensei was looking at him with...sympathy... But eh, the great thing about Henges: they would never know it was him-

 _ **-Hey kit, I think you've been found out**_.

That was sudden. Naruto scoffed. _Why would you say that? I'm henged, remember?_

 ** _Oh, I don't know...I'm a fortune teller and I can see it in his eyes...YOU BAKA, your verbal tick gave it away! Once you spoke it aloud, it became obvious! That man is your Hokage for a reason, he's staring at you right now!_**

The young Namikaze tensed. His blood ran cold as Iruka kept on talking with Minato, who kept silent as he listened to the man, nodding once or twice. He didn't miss the look that the older blond was giving him throughout the talk: slightly narrowed eyes whose shine dimmed to show professionalism, better known to him as the famous "Hokage vision" stare.

No waaaay, that can't be true! You're wrong, I'm henged, he won't notice it! I only said it once!

His father turned to fully face him as Iruka left the room.

 _Gah! Nevermind! He's looking at me in that fatherly way...! I'm not Naruto! Play it cool, play it cool..._

 _ **Kekeke, I somehow don't feel pity for you if you get caught, gaki**_..The fox curled itself into a small ball next to him as he watched the Hokage sit down. _**You had it coming, after all...I wonder what he might say...**_

 _Oh be quiet! I'm panicking and you're certainly not helping me here, dattebayo-_

"Naruto."

Said blond jerked his head up on instinct at the sound of his name.

 _ **Ha, you baka! You fell for it!**_

 _Wait wha_...?

Minato smiled as his suspicions were confirmed on the spot. "Get out of Henge, please. I prefer to talk to my own son instead of a... disguise of sorts."

Naruto was at a loss for words when he realised his mistake. With a sigh, he dispelled the jutsu, black hair revealing his blond-yellow hair and black eyes giving way to the normal blue cerulean eyes.

He then frowned.

"Maybe untie me too?" he said meekly under his father's stern eyes. "That Iruka sure tied me up too tightly. I feel like my arms are gonna explode, 'ttebayo..."

Minato slowly stood up from his seat and paused to take a good look at his son. Naruto Namikaze. His little Naruto, all grown up into a bubbly, hyperactive young boy...whiskers adorning his cheeks, and those blue eyes full of fight that reminded him of his excitement filled late wife. Her face on his, and his penchant for pranks...He sighed. Everything about his own son made him think about Kushina -except for his hair. Naruto had his hair. _And yet, that verbal tick..._

Naruto raised an eyebrow, as if though he knew what he was thinking.

The Yondaime made his way over to his son and untied the knot behind the boy's upper back in a flash. As soon as the strings loosened and he was freed, Naruto began to move his arms as much as he could to get rid of the stuffy feeling he had on him, plus to reduce the pain of the tightness. His father smiled at the sight.

"You know...you did deserve that."

Naruto pouted. "Eeeeeey, not getting tied up, 'ttebayo! The lecture, maybe. But this hurt!"

"I see..."

In a blink of an eye, Naruto found himself staring face to face at his own father: blue eyes meeting blue eyes as the man's two hands held his shoulders firmly in place. He froze as he noted the seriousness in the older blond's body language and felt as if though he was shrinking under the stare.

A sudden change of scene.

"Uh..."

"Naruto," Minato began, "I have to ask...who taught you to perform Henge?"

He tensed. _Oh no.._.

Silence.

"Naruto, answer me?"

 _What do I do...?_

Silence once more.

"Naruto..." Minato said once more, but with a bit of KI woven into the words to illicit a response. "Tell me who showed you how to Henge."

He resisted the urge to cringe. _I can't..._

 _-Flashback-_

 _"This is our secret, alright?" Inu said as he gently ruffled his hair. "Let's try not to say anything until it's time, okay?"_

 _"Okay!" Naruto chirped before frowning, "But...when will I know?"_

 _"I'll tell you when, or you'll find an opening. It depends. All you need to do is to just stay quiet about it for right now, ne? You are not to speak a word."_

 _The boy smiled. "Okay, Inu sensei! Hi-mi-tsu 'ttebayo!"_

 _"Good," Inu nodded. He then turned to face the door for a few minutes before looking back at the child and holding up a small scroll. "And now then... Let's go onto lesson one: to understand Chakra, you need to know the basic fundamentals..."_

 _-Flashback END-_

Naruto had no idea where he zoned out or not. He probably did, seeing as he felt himself back in his current surroundings, and felt himself grow warm. Yellow-blond hair tickled his cheek and immediately realised that his father was hugging him tightly.

 _Why is he...?_

It took him feeling his heartbeat slowing down to normal before he realised that he was about to have a panic attack beforehand.

This scene somehow felt vaguely _familiar_...like if it had happened. A sense of deja vu...but he didn't know why.

Not the issue though.

For a few moments, all Naruto wanted to do was to close his eyes and nuzzle into the embrace. This was a rare thing going on between them and he wanted to savor every minute -but then again, he had to deal with the question that his dad wanted seeing as how now the dude let go. He mentally sighed. As much as it annoyed him, he was stuck between the middle of the problem he predicted he would be when he was younger, and to be honest, had no idea how to safely approach a conclusion that wouldn't get his father mad with him.

Minato looked at him again with the question lingering in his eyes.

 _Do...do you think it's time I told him, Kurama chan?_ Naruto asked his pal mentally. _I...really want to say something, but Inu said to wait until it was time to tell or there was an opening, 'ttebayo...Oi, do you think it's time?_

 **...**

 _Kurama chan...?_

 **...**

 _Hello?_

There was silence on their telepathy waves. The fox didn't even bother to respond, and as Naruto snuck a quick peek to figure out why, he noticed the lazy imaginary animal snoozing on the floor space it currently occupied.

 _Oh great, thanks Kurama chan for sleeping on me_...Naruto deadpanned in sarcasm. _Always helpful_...

 **... _You're welcome, kit. I try my best._**

 _I -hey waaaait! You're awake-_

Minato sighed, causing Naruto to snap out of the link to face him again as he began to speak in his fatherly tone. "Naruto, son... I know what you're thinking..."

Said boy widened his eyes by then.

"...You won't tell me who taught you, I can see that and I won't pry any further." _Seeing as I think I know who your 'sensei' was..._

 _Oh thank Kami, I thought he was gonna continue staring me down!_

Minato stood up from his crouching position and and took a step back towards his desk, his eyes taking one good look at his carbon copy's face before they fell onto a piece of paper he picked up in interest. "But just because you know how to Henge, doesn't mean you can become a Konoha Shinobi."

 _Ehhh!?_

There was a minute long silence that reigned.

"But...why?" Naruto asked in a half strained croak/whisper when he mentally digested the words. After all this, he couldn't become a ninja? Why the hell not?

"Look...it's not that simple to explain..."

"Oh come on, dad! I proved myself to you...! What more do I need to do to let you enter me at the Academy, huh?!" Naruto folded his hands and frowned. "I read tons of books on the subject even though they were boring and had big words that I needed a dictionary for, I put so much effort in math for you when you taught me that, dattebayo! I can also freaking Henge...even walk up walls after falling and hurting myself a few times trying and perform Kawarimii with a _pillow_ -"

"Don't forget Kage Bunshin..." Minato pointed out. "A jutsu written inside the _Forbidden scroll,_ " -Naruto looked away, noting the emphasis- "and I'm not even going to question as to how you managed to get your hands on that, either. But I do commend you on using a forbidden technique to deceive the others, but you can't fool me. I knew it wasn't the real you on your bed."

To say the blond wasn't upset was an understatement to his actual emotion, times a hundred.

"What!? How...how did you find out...?! I swear my plan was perfect 'ttebayo!"

"...Well, It didn't have my Hiraishin tag-"

Naruto jumped off his spot on the floor hearing that. He began searching himself frantically for the elusive mark. "You have a seal on me!? A seal?! Where is it, where'ja put it- _OWW!_ Why'd you punch my clone for dad?!"

He rubbed his cheek tenderly; a fathom pain even though it didn't necessarily happen to him.

"That's besides the point, Naruto." Minato held up a finger in front of him and dispelled his own clone he had sent to his son's bedroom earlier. "Right now, this is about you and your dream of being a ninja...and I can't allow it. You have to understand that."

 _Besides, even if I wanted to, I can't.._.he added mentally.

"And why is that?! Is it because I'm supposedly special?" The blond shouted. "Maybe someone's gonna kill me or something, and because you're too overprotective?"

The Yondaime frowned. "Naruto...it's not that easy to-"

"Ah, or is it because I'm just not good enough? Is that it? My skills can't impress my own 'famous' father?"

"Naruto, that's not-"

"Whoop-di-doo, Twelve freakin' _years_ in my room, 'ttebayo," his son continued his rant, "...being obedient for _eleven_ before you finally removed those barrier seals, and five years' worth of secret training...I've been on my best behavior and I still can't convince you that I can handle myself?!"

 _It's not that you can't,_ _Naruto_...Minato wanted to tell him, _I don't doubt you..._

Instead, he chose to remain quiet as Naruto protested even further.

"I'm not a little baby anymore, dattebayo-! With this prank alone, I've managed to evade and fool Jounin _and_ Chuunin...for kami's sake, I've even fooled those freaking ANBU guards you put outside my place to get out of my so called 'prison' of a bedroom!"

"Naruto."

"So why won't you let me enter-"

A hand held up made they boy shut up entirely.

Having his son's attention, Minato paused to look up at a small bird shaped clock hanging above one of the walls before looking back to his clearly annoyed face.

"Look, I have a meeting at 12pm" he replied in a soft voice, "... that's in three minutes. Can we speak about this another day?"

The room went silent for a minute before Naruto shook his head and scoffed.

"Hmp...put your hand up and that's what you needed to say to me, huh? What a load of bull, dattebayo...another day my a-"

"Language."

Said boy picked himself off the floor and dusted himself off. On cue, four ANBU members appeared at the boy's side as he gave his father one last look, crestfallen eyes staring at him, tears on the verge of falling. "Great...I need escorts to go back to my room, huh? I could have left this stinking village if only I wouldn't have ended up missing you if I did dattebayo..."

Minato remained silent.

Naruto chuckled afterwards, but not with heart. "Ya know...Most parents would be proud to have their kids follow in their footsteps...But _you_? You're just too...too mean. That's not fair, dad. It really isn't, 'ttebayo!"

Those words...and the look on his face...It really killed him to see his son so upset. It reminded him of Kushina being upset...Naruto and Kushina, _his_ treasures...his little bundles of love...His family...They were the only things keeping him sane and filled with happiness in his life.

 _Dammit_...

Deep down, he felt himself clutching his chest. His heart ached. Kushina was gone, and the product of his undying love for her was currently upset with him. Upset, which normally wouldn't be an emotion on his own little boy's face. Oh he could see it now: his wife would have been turning in her grave for acting the way he did. Kushina wouldn't have wanted to see her baby crying. Neither did he, and yet he ended up triggering the effect.

 _Naruto_...

"I'm really sorry..." Minato apologized weakly before ordering the ANBU to lead the boy back to his room. "I'll talk to you after this is all done, okay?"

" _Hmp_. Unless the 'talk' is gonna be about you having 'changed your mind' and letting me attend the ninja academy, _old man.._." -Here, the older blond nearly cringed. Not so much for the emphasis, but that he knew Naruto used that nickname for him whenever he was truly upset- "...I think I'ma pass on that, 'ttebayo," Naruto ended curtly. His face was tinted slightly red as he refused to show any more sadness. "I'm hitting the sack early. Goodnight."

As they escorted his son out of the office, the Yondaime Hokage looked at the paper in his hands for a few. He mumbled a few incoherent words before quietly putting it back on his desk with a mixed expression.

Sigh. _What would you have done, Kushina?_

* * *

"...an expansion to the Konoha Hospital's budget would not only cover the cost of the new Medical wing and equipment, but it would be a positive outlook for our village, seeing as we only have one medical building on hand and the amount of ninja that come back from their missions with mid to life threatening injuries. Adding onto the fact that we also have minor villages that send their worse patients off to us, it solves the problem of no vacancy and brings in revenue with the added bonus of more jobs. Exactly what we need."

As much as Himeko Watanabi's voice -the director of Konoha's only village hospital- was as cheery and lively as the lady could make it be, it really did nothing to make one Minato Namikaze pay any attention to her or her voucher for more ryo to her cause.

 _Sigh_...

Minato, in his own version of the Hokage grab consisting of his usual trademark cloak (white with red flames, with the words "Yondaime Hokage" written in the back) and the proper Hokage hat, was currently seated in the front of a half rounded table. On his left side sat the nine representatives that made up Konoha's Civilian Council, and on the right sat the heads of Konoha's prominent clans -along with Elders Danzō Shimura, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado- who made up the Shinobi Council. Together, they all were the driving force for Konoha's prosperity and safety.

At the moment, they were all gathered inside a traditional style meeting room discussing several topics at hand: examples are going over once again the security details for the annual Springtime of the flowers festival, along with applications for funds that several sections of Konoha's business fractions had submitted during the month with written explanations for the need in monetary assistance -something that they were all currently on, busy taking note of one of those applications and trying to come up with a yes or no to the app.

"I believe it would be a good thing to do," a tan skinned, black haired lady nodded. "This would definitely increase profits, and we will be able to tend to more of those who need it the most."

"And I second that, Dr Sakemi," said Koharu. "Especially with the major flux in more genin and chuunin coming out, we will need to..."

 _Oh Kushina..._ Minato thought sadly as he half paid attention to the elder at hand. _I don't think I'm cut out to be a father..._

 _ **.**_

 _ **"Dammit, I could have left this stinking village if only I wouldn't have ended up missing you if I did...!"** _ He watched as Naruto wiped a stray tear from his face. _**"Most parents would be proud to have their kids follow in their footsteps...But you? You're just too...too mean. That's not fair, dad...It really isn't, 'ttebayo!..."**_

 _ **"Whoop-di-doo, Twelve freakin' years in my room 'ttebayo..."** _ Naruto ranted, ** _"being obedient for eleven years before you finally removed those barrier seals, and five years' worth of secret training...I've been on my best behavior and I still can't convince you that I can handle myself?.."_**

 _ **"...is it because I'm just not good enough? "** _ he exclaimed. _**"Is that it? My skills can't impress my own 'famous' father?..."**_

 ** _"Oh come on, dad! What more do I need to do to let you enter me at the Academy, huh?.."_**

 ** _"Hmp. Unless the 'talk' is gonna be about you having 'changed your mind' and letting me attend the ninja academy, old man..."_ ** Naruto gave him a narrowed look, _**"I think I'ma pass on that 'ttebayo...I'm hitting the sack early. Goodnight..."**_

 _ **.**_

 _He could have left the village...He could have gone out, deserting Konoha, and joined up with another...all to enlist into their Shinobi ranks..._ the Yondaime couldn't help but to ignore everyone around him. They were of no interest at the moment. _I removed those seals. I restricted his movements...and with that stunt he pulled I know he would be able to..._

 _...if he still didn't feel attached to the only family he had..._

Hazy outlines shifted and spun until he could only see Naruto in his eyes. He could see as his son took one good look at him, frowned, and began to walk away towards the village gates. Minato tried to move his feet to catch him but he was completely rooted to the ground. He felt a pang inside as he attempted to call out to his only child with no avail. He was slowly moving away from his reach and it killed him.

The image then changed to his wife Kushina -Kami bless her soul wherever she was. He could see her face filled with sorrow and anger as she watched Naruto leave. Once Naruto became nothing but a dot on the horizon, his wife turned to face him with an face of disappointment at what he had done.

Except now she was her 13 year old self.

 **.**

 _ **You're too protective,**_ she mentally chided as she kicked a small broken chain on the ground. _**Stop worrying so much about me, Minato! Just because of what happened to me before doesn't mean I can't take care of myself, dattebane!**_

 _ **.**_

The kidnapping...

Bubbly Kushina Uzumaki then proceeded to run through the gates as well, joining up with her own genin team on a mission and leaving him behind, laughing along the way...

The images faded away soon after.

 _I guess you're right,_ Minato admitted as he watched Himeko open and close her mouth whenever some else did the same action before her. _I am too overprotective of Naruto. But I have a reason to be: he is just like you now...and I don't want anything to happen to our only child. I won't be able to handle another loss._

 _I already lost you when you and the Sandaime purposely sealed me out of the barrier...I watched you both get stabbed and I couldn't do anything to stop it..._

 _-Flashback-_

 _"Kushina...the hell, Kushinaaaa!"_

 _As the beast in front of them roared with all its might, blue-white Adamantine chains held it at bay from causing many more damage. These chains lead towards a red haired woman, breathing heavily as she struggled to maintain her grip with unforced determination, eyes filled with fire as she stood her ground._

 _Stood her ground with a huge chakra made nail protruding from her stomach._

 _"Kushina...w-why...?"_

 _Minato looked at his wife with great sadness in his eyes as he struggled to get the next sentence out from falling tears. "Kushina...you weren't-"_

 _"Supposed to die..?" she chuckled, blood coming out of her mouth as she so. "I know I wasn't...and neither are you...this was instinct."_

 _The wind blew softly, and another roar was heard as the fox continued to struggle, digging its nail further into his wife._

 _"But then why?" He cried out. He was shaking as he pounded on the barrier keeping his wife, child and Sandaime Sarutobi inside. "Why did you kick me out...?! You two...wh_ _at purpose-"_

 _"Minato Namikaze!"_

 _The blond clamped his mouth at the mention of his name in anger. His eyes moved from his wife's dying body towards the Old man standing beside her, smiling. He too had been impaled._

 _"Sarutobi...why-"_

 _"A great man will be a great loss to the village..."_

 _Minato blinked as the Sandaime laughed. "My time here on...this Earth is done, Minato. You and I both know the a-amount of chakra contained by the Kyuubi is t-too much for your son to bare..."_

 _"I know that...But why-!"_

 _"You needed t-to use the Dead Demon consuming seal, Minato. I will...not have you die...like that..." Sarutobi shook his head as he looked at the baby before him. "If you were in my place...y-you would...have also jumped to restrain...the beast from killing your son...Konoha would have lost...a great man...and your son his parents...!"_

 _Kushina nodded weakly. "I..I'm not going to let...my son be without his father...Minato, honey...He will not be alone, dattebane..._

 _...thank you for giving me the best years of my life. I love you both."_

 _Said man began to scream and beat the barrier as the claw pushed itself further into the two Shinobi. He screamed as his wife and predecessor to the Hokage role screamed as they forcefully pushed it back...he screamed as Sarutobi bid him farewell and made him promise to remain focused on the village's safety despite the loss, using Minato's created Eight Trigrams seal on his son to finally seal the threat away..._

 _That was when the barrier finally broke away, but by then it was took late._

 _There was only silence after, as several ninja made their way towards their broken hearted Yondaime Hokage kneeling with his son in hand, before two bodies, one deceased while the other quickly fading from life._

 _"My baby..." Kushina croaked as she led one finger across her child's whiskered cheeks. "Be a...g-good boy...and s-study hard..."_

 _Minato cringed._

 _"...listen...to your dad...He always knows..w-what's best...and don't..stay up...late...'ttebane..."_

 _She slowly lowered her eyelids, but not before giving them a grin and a small chuckle. She weakly gripped her husband's hand to get him to smile, but to no avail. He was breaking apart emotionally._

 _"I love you both...and I'm sorry for what I did to you, Minato. But...I'll always be watching...you from above. Don't you ever forget that..."_

 _I love you..._

-Flashback END-

Having to relive the pain of losing her that way made him want to scream once more. It was still a wound too deep to fully heal -twelve years deep.

 _Dammit Kushina...! I would h_ _ave sacrificed myself to have you be with Naruto, safe and sound-_

"Yondaime sama? Is everything alright?"

It took strength not to have jumped out from his chair just then.

Coming out from the sudden cloud of memories, Minato blinked a few times as he heard his name being called. All around him, the members of both councils -plus one very annoyed Watanabi- were looking at him with concerned stares. When the blonde noted this, he felt his face go red in embarrassment and he fake coughed just to be able to look away from the stares.

"I'm...sorry for my sudden action, Dr Sakemi san. I was trying to digest the information all at once. Please, do go on."

The room was quiet for a brief minute before Himeko nodded. He quickly gave his full attention to what she had to say.

"Alright then...In regards to the written reviews from the heads of staff, I wanted to ask you what your opinions were to the applications for funding of our several Hospital projects?"

Minato nearly blanched on his seat. "Hospital...projects?" he half stammered.

The doctor frowned. "Yes. The ones I've mentioned. Everyone else gave their opinion, Yondaime sama. We were all hoping to hear what you had to say on the matter?"

Again, all eyes were on him once more, and it became really uncomfortable. Especially since he really wasn't paying attention to the lady's words the whole time.

 _Why do I feel like this is some sort of karma for what happened in the morning?_

Well there was no time to be silent. He had to say something.

"Oh, the funding..." Minato nodded slowly as he chose his words carefully. He had to play it safe and avoid being found out. "Well...it at all, I think it's a good idea. Like what Koharu and Dr Sakemi have already stated, it would provide beneficial financial aid for the village. Money that could be used to improve our facilities and arm our ninja. But I will see to it what ryo amount would be granted for the applicants and I expect nothing but positive results."

Himeko smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you, Yondaime sama. This means we are in agreement for the vote?"

"If everyone is okay with it...sure...I guess."

 _And that was the end of that,_ he mentally jumped in victory. _Wow, I hate to say it, but I cant believe I just pulled a Kushina safely and survived!_

Normally, he would be laughing and silently thanking her profusely for having done what she normally did in the Academy. But somehow, he didn't feel happy anymore. Just having done that had his mind reeling back to the earlier daydreams: ones where she was disappointed in him for being too protective.

Either she was probably trying to tell him something from beyond the grave, or his brain was mentally punishing him for what happened earlier with Naruto and making him feel bad.

Even he would be upset if someone told him he couldn't be what he wanted to be.

Just as the meeting wrapped up and the required paperwork was signed in person, Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara clan and Konoha's strategist, stood up from his seat.

"There is just one more matter to discuss, Yondaime sama," he said.

Minato looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Does this matter have something to do with this week's graduating class? Because if that's the case, then I"m pretty sure I've gotten all the paperwork straightened out and the appropriate number of headbands ordered..."

"No, it isn't anything about that, Yondaime sama... What I mean is that there is an issue with this year's graduating genin _teams."_

"Oh?"

Shikaku nodded as Minato sat back down on his seat. "Yes. From what I heard from my son Shikamaru, a classmate of his, Toshi Sasaki, has recently withdrawn from the academy. As a result, we are down one student for equal groups of three."

There were small murmurs after this.

"Hmm, that has never happened before," Inoichi Yamanaka, head of the Yamanaka clan and one of the interrogators of the T&I department said with a frown and intrigue. "Is there a reason why his parents withdrew the child, Shikaku?"

The Nara shook his head. "At the moment, nothing yet. But the boy was seen walking around so I'm assuming his parents didn't feel like he was capable of the workload this career harbors. Records from the Academy senseis stated he hasn't pass much of his lectures and apparently had taken the graduation exam twice -and failed both times."

"Makes sense. said it was going to be easy, and it certainly won't be getting any easier for the graduates later on."

Minato nodded his head in sympathy. It was already well known that the ninja academy was demanding in physical and mental aspects. Classes were stressed and exams tested everything that the student would need during his time serving the village. Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu... infiltration skills and much more. Most kids would be efficient in all three, or two of those aspects, while some ended up being the dead last of the class and would drop -most of the drop rates being normal civilians, like Sasaki. But to have managed to last as long as the boy had did before leaving was an achievement.

Then there was the case of Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno's daughter Sakura, who was still currently registered and slated to take the graduation exam...

A brief thought of his wife Kushina as a genin appeared in his mind.

"Well that's a shame...though I do believe we could have offered a workaround solution to help the young one," Danzō said. "A true loss. Let us hope that never happens again."

Everyone nodded.

"Well in any case, we need to fill in the gap," the head of the Aburame clan, Shibi, said. "We cannot just let two students be held back for a missing third candidate."

"And where are we going to get another student from?" Hiashi asked. "This is the graduating class we are talking about. The class under them are still inexpert at best, and as much as I would offer up my younger daughter Hanabi, I believe she will need a year more before being placed on a team."

"We can't have them wait a year for someone!"

"And why can't we just have the two kids train with a sensei?"

"Its always been three cell squads!"

"My younger kids aren't ready yet."

"Most of the lower classes haven't shown much potential yet.."

"Who the hell stole my coffee!?

 _Here we go again,_ Minato sighed mentally as he watched the clans and civilian members trying to come up with a workable solution. _And just when this meeting is over, another problem turns up...where am I going to find another capable student?_

 _._

 _ **"I'm not a little baby anymore, dattebayo! With this prank alone, I've managed to evade and fool Jounin and Chuunin...for kami's sake, I've even fooled those freaking ANBU guards you put outside my place to get out of my so called 'prison' of a bedroom!"**_

 _A familiar loud voice caught his attention. The Yondaime found himself surrounded by white; the next second, he found himself looking at Naruto standing in his field of view. He could see his hands crossed in front of his chest as his son stared the older blond down with a smirk. He also held up his three pronged Hiraishin marked kunai and began to twirl it by his finger with the same excitement as he spoke._

 _ **"I read tons of books on the subject even though they were boring and had big words that I needed a dictionary for, I put so much effort in math for you when you taught me that, dattebayo! I can also freaking Henge...walk up walls after falling and hurting myself a few times trying, and perform Kawarimi with a pillow!"**_

 _Kushina stood beside Naruto soon after, and she had the same smirk as her son, but with fire in her eyes as was her fiery persona. She proceeded to place one hand on her waist and another on his son's shoulder while dressed as a professional jounin._

 _ **"Don't forget Kage Bunshin..."** she pointed out, although slightly stern as she continued. **"A jutsu written inside the Forbidden scroll -and I'm not even going to question as to how you managed to get your hands on that either. But I do commend you on using a forbidden technique to deceive the others, but you can't fool your dad, 'ttebane. He knew it wasn't the real you on your bed...**_

 _ **...But I bet you could be up to your dad's par with a bit more work, huh, my little genin?"**_

 _Naruto held a Konoha headband on his hand out to him and smiled..._

 _._

 _Oh shit, Kushina..._ Minato found himself wanting to playfully hit his wife over on the head and laugh, _I think you've gotten too friendly with Kami if I'm starting to believe this was all an elaborate setup..._

A raised hand was all it took to gather everyone's attention back to him once more. He cleared his throat:

"Alright then... I would like to thank you all for taking the time out of your day to discuss these issues with me...I hope that anything that needed to be dealt with had been taken care of. Final preparations for the annual spring festival will be reviewed with the Jounin and ANBU in charge, as well as border patrols. And as for any other applications or reviews that weren't able to be on today's agenda, I would like to remind you that I _will_ be submitting my decision to them as soon as possible and in a timely manner. Now if there aren't any more questions..."

Minato looked at everyone with a pleased expression on his face. "...than this meeting is adjourned. Have a nice day."

The room couldn't have gotten any more silent than what it had gone after that. Several pair of different coloured eyes were kept locked on their blond leader as he proceeded to gather up the papers in front of him, a smile on his normally stoic face, humming what sounded like a cheery tune along with it.

Let it be known that Danzō Shimura -as mysterious as he is- never ceased to amaze the young Kage with how incredibly observant he was with people.

"We haven't solved the issue of uneven teams, Yondaime sama," he mentioned as said Kage straightened out the pile. "But as you decided to call an end to this meeting, I'm assuming you found a... _favorable_ solution to the problem?"

The blond didn't fail to miss the emphasis. Everyone else didn't, either.

"Oh yes, Danzō san, I _have_."

Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage of the hidden leaves, took one good look at everyone in the room before removing his Kage hat and holding it beside him in his trademark stoic fashion.

 _I hope this is worth the amount of worry I'll have to be going through, Kushina. I hope it is..._

With an unwavering voice, he began to speak.

"Starting tomorrow... my son Naruto will be attending the Academy for his finals, effectively completing the missing link."

Silence.

"...Are there any questions?"

* * *

 _Back home (and not sleeping like he said he was)_

...one sulking Naruto Namikaze happened to find 50 ryo behind a few cabinets inside his father's room during his search for a pencil.

"Kami must feel bad for me today to give me pocket change, huh Kurama chan?" He grinned as he looked at the coins in his hand. "Oi, I remember Inu sensei tellin' me that finding money in the place you least expect it is a sign of good luck, datte-ba-yo~... Think something good might happen to me, ne?"

Kurama pounced on the table next to him and began to look at all the papers, disinterested with whatever the boy had to say.

Naruto frowned at the silence. "'Rama chan, I asked you a question, dattebayo! At least answer it before you ignore me, sheesh."

 **...**

"Oh come on...!"

 ** _Sigh...I don't get paid for this._**

"You don't get paid at all-

 ** _I'M USING IT AS A FIGURE OF SPEECH, you BAKA GAKI-!_**

* * *

Done with this one. Hoped you all liked the chapter. Yes, Naruto said goodnight, even though it was still morning...midday? 12pm, basically. He just means he's going to sleep early since he's upset.

OOC much, maybe? Dattebayo: no meaning, so will use whenever I think it suits it, or maybe when the fan meaning "you know" works. Could be. I feel like it's Naruto's way of saying "ya know"? When I watch the Japanese anime, it fits. A lot.

Kinda made Minato be somewhat stern yet flexible. I don't see him as the type that would be mean to his son, but Kushina would be very disciplinarian yet caring (too bad she's dead...tried to keep the death of her like the manga. Kept aspects.i hope I did well). But he's a good guy. He cares for his son and just fears for his safety like any parent... except there are certain other...circumstances...later...

Stuff. Not gonna reveal yet.

Let it be known that paperwork changes people...

I'll get used to writing for this fandom soon.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Class, I'd like to introduce to you all our newest student..."

"Naruto! Quit bothering Sasuke!"

"Oh man, oh man, oh MAN! This is going to be so much fun, dattebayo~!"

"Wait!? Are you telling me that it was YOU!?"

Next Chapter: Friend or Rival? Meeting Sasuke Uchiha!

(Sorry about the chapter name change, written the wrong one)


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